Rural communities often rely on close-knit relationships and strong social ties as an informal safety network, where trust plays a central role.

Social worker and human rights activist Sherna Alexander Benjamin said this helps explain why murdered 12-year-old Mercedez Layne’s grandfather may have felt comfortable placing her in a private hire vehicle.

“There are no transportation that are registered, the majority of transportation is PH and they are based on relationships deeply embedded in how the community functions day to day. So what exists is something powerful in its own right and it must not be judged. It’s a web of social relationships, shared history and mutual accountability. People who know the driver’s route, they know whose family he belongs to, they have seen him show up every morning for years picking up people in the community.”